


To Serve the Greater Good

by Telaryn



Category: Leverage, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: F/M, Illnesses, Minor Character Death, Open Relationships, Outdoor Sex, Sexual Content, Social Commentary, Team Dynamics, Terminal Illnesses, Terrorism, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-26
Updated: 2012-08-26
Packaged: 2017-11-12 22:33:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/496376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telaryn/pseuds/Telaryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a volatile social climate where religious zealotry holds too much influence over political and business decisions, Nathan Ford seeks to use his company's resources to perform a controversial operation in order to save his nephew's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Serve the Greater Good

**Author's Note:**

> As should be obvious by the artwork that inspired the tale, this is an Avengers based Leverage AU. It's also the first AU I've ever penned, and much thanks to Mizzy2k for laying down the challenge.

  


  
Parker always knew when he got up in the middle of the night. The hum of the power source tasked with recharging his chest implant shifted frequencies when it was unplugged – the difference in tone was enough to disturb her sleep all by itself.

The clink of glass against glass as Nate poured himself a whisky from the decanter on his dresser finished the job. Frowning, Parker hitched herself up on one elbow and squinted at the bedside clock. “You’ve only been plugged in for half an hour,” she said.

Nate didn’t even do her the courtesy of meeting her eyes in the mirror, settling only for raising his glass in salute as he stalked towards the balcony. Rolling her eyes in frustration, Parker huffed out an angry breath and flopped back on her pillow. She’d been raised to believe that the biggest problem when you slept with your boss was a muddying of the waters, a loss of respect for her position as the head of security for IYS International.

Nobody had so much as hinted that her biggest hurdle would be the fact that her boss – one of the most powerful industrialists in the world – was at times little more than a high-maintenance drama queen.

Parker lay in bed for several minutes, listening to the power source hum and trying to decide if she was going to go after Nate or succumb to the pull of sleep threatening to drag her back under its waves. _Surgery’s next week,_ she remembered suddenly, pressing her fists to her temples as a jolt of energy surged through her. Nate’s nephew was scheduled to undergo the final stage of an experimental treatment for a rare heart condition. They would be using technology developed by IYS with data collected from Nate’s own arc reactor.

Groaning, she threw back the sheet and covers, and rolled to a sitting position. _Sonofabitch._ The robe Nate had bought her was thrown over a nearby chair. Parker grabbed it and pulled it on over her gold lace teddy before heading out to join her lover.

The night was much colder than the daytime temperatures would have predicted. Parker drew the robe more closely around her, but the heavy silk offered little protection against the chill. “You’re the one that said partial charges degrade the equipment over time.”

Laughing bitterly, Nate tossed off the rest of his whisky and held the glass over the railing. “Do me a favor, Parker,” he said, opening his hand and dropping it into the bushes below. “Don’t lecture me.” Whirling suddenly, he closed the distance between them in two quick strides. Parker forced herself not to react defensively as he cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to kiss her.

“You need to try this argument on the board sometime,” Parker said, twining her arms around his neck once he finally let her up for air.

“Shut up,” he growled, walking her backwards until her back met the nearest wall. While he kissed her again, Parker hooked her hands into the waistband of his sleep pants, flexing her fingers so that her knuckles grazed the muscles of his stomach. Jerking her robe open, Nate slipped his hands inside; thumbs brushing lightly across her nipples. Parker moaned, arching into his touch.

Despite his mood, the alcohol, and his seeming distraction, Nate’s hands were never clumsy on her skin. “You feel so good,” he whispered, palms skimming the curve of her waist, fingers playing along the lace trim at the leg openings of her teddy.

“You’re drunk,” she countered, but she obligingly shifted her stance to allow him between her thighs. Nate cupped her mound in his palm, using the friction of lace and his fingers along her slit to tease her into a wet, writhing, needy mess.

“One does not necessarily negate the other,” he mumbled distractedly, kissing her again. While his tongue was tracing delicious lines of heat inside her mouth, he unsnapped the crotch of her teddy one handed. Parker stiffened, whimpering low in her throat as his finger circled her clit. “So wet…come for me Parker. I want to see that look in your eyes…please…”

Working her own hands under his waistband, Parker freed Nate’s cock – pushing the fabric over his hips and half way down his thighs. “Fuck me and you can,” she told him, twisting free until their eyes met.

She thought for a half-second that he was going to balk at her request. Nate had a history of sleeping with women who did whatever he wanted in bed, trusting that his skill as a lover would more than compensate them for not bothering to speak up. Parker could still remember the first time she’d told him she didn’t like something he’d done – Nate had looked at her with such genuine surprise and confusion it had been all she could do not to laugh.

Now though, he had her robe untied and stripped off her shoulders almost before she could blink. Lifting her up in his arms, Nate turned and set her on top of the low wall that bordered the edge of his balcony. Parker wrapped her legs loosely around his waist, and reached between them. “Come here,” she murmured, wrapping a hand around his shaft. Nate pressed into her, letting her angle him up inside her. “Oh yes,” she breathed as he pushed into her, stretching her open as he went. “That’s what I want. Right there.”

Nate half-collapsed against her as he reached the bottom of his stroke. Nuzzling along the side of her neck, he rocked his hips back and thrust forward again harder. Parker tightened her legs around his waist as he set up a rhythm – shoving himself inside her now, with strong and determined strokes. Heat pooled low in her belly, and each thrust sent fire licking out along her nerves. Awareness that only open air and roughly six inches of stone stood between her and a forty-foot drop kept her adrenaline levels soaring.

“Fuck me, Nate,” she moaned, as one of his thrusts shoved her another precious half inch towards the drop. “God…oh god…please…” Whimpering, she clutched at his curls – fisting her hands convulsively in the tangle of his hair. _So close…_ Nate worked a hand between their sweating bodies, finger rubbing her clit until Parker saw sparks. She arched in Nate’s arms, crying out as her orgasm took her; the muscles of her pussy tightened around his cock in a rush of warmth and wet.

“Yes…” Nate growled. “yes, yes, yes…God, Parker…” Words faded away, and suddenly he was coming inside her so hard that Parker felt her first orgasm bleed directly into her second.

The two of them clung to each other for an impossibly long time, riding out a tangle of aftershocks. Parker hovered on the edge of passing out, until a breeze licked at the sweat on her back, giving her a chill. Her shivers transmitted themselves to Nate, who flinched and started to pull free of her. Whimpering in protest, Parker tightened her legs around his waist, holding him in place.

Nate laughed breathlessly, cupping her cheek and tipping her face up until their eyes met. Parker was grateful to see few traces of his earlier black mood left in his expression. “Next time,” he told her. “Right now I’m stiff and I’m sore, and I don’t need my head of security sneezing at my back when she’s supposed to be watching for threats.”

Pouting, Parker let him go. Nate pulled himself free of her with a sharp hiss of breath, and then helped her off the wall before padding off to look for towels. Clean-up was a fairly involved process, including a debate on whether it was worth them taking a shower together at this time of night. Parker won that argument when she pointed out that they’d never successfully showered together without fucking themselves nearly unconscious. “And you’re supposed to meet your sister and Sammy in the morning.”

Mention of his nephew seemed to take some of the glow off Nate’s good mood. Parker hadn’t wanted to bring it up, but everybody who worked for Nathan Ford knew that it was up to them to make sure the boss remembered his appointments and his obligations. Luckily for both of them, this time sex, whisky and the lateness of the hour seemed to have nudged Nate’s psyche far enough in the direction of sleep that he didn’t protest when Parker urged him to return to bed.

He didn’t go entirely without complaint, however. “I can plug myself in, dammit.” He jerked the leads away from her as soon as she picked them up. Parker let them go without argument – she’d been with Nate long enough to know that sometimes you just had to give him something harmless to growl about.  
****************  
Some mornings Sophie wondered why she continued to resist her boss’s offer of a suite of rooms in the mansion for her own use. She could have skipped the stop for coffee to get her going, the morning commute, and the feeling like she’d just come from Ford’s estate all in one go.

The only thing she couldn’t have avoided was Nate’s pathological aversion to anything resembling a regular schedule or consideration for other people’s needs. Most days, it was enough.

Any hope Sophie had that she could have avoided Nate until after breakfast by coming in the back way evaporated as soon as she stepped into the kitchen. Ford was already sitting at the eating counter, reading the Wall Street Journal and stuffing forkfuls of scrambled eggs into his mouth almost as an after-thought. His eyes were shadowed with lack of sleep, his hair was a mess, and his robe was half-open over a too-thin t-shirt and badly-tied pajama pants.

 _Ladies and gentlemen, People’s Sexiest Man of the Year for the last two years,_ Sophie thought wryly, setting her briefcase down and sliding up onto one of the stools. Cora – Nate’s cook – had set a plate of hot food in front of her before she could even ask. Sophie smiled her thanks at the red-haired woman and immediately set to eating.

Silence fell over the kitchen, broken only by the rustle of Nate’s paper, and the occasional sound of Cora clearing away her breakfast pots and pans. Sophie took the time to savor her food – it was typically the only meal she ate in any sort of peace over the course of an average day – and managed not to grin when after twenty minutes Nate set down his paper and finally registered that she was there.

“What time are we meeting Maggie and Sam?” he asked by way of greeting.

“We need to leave in half an hour,” she told him. “Please don’t make me come after you this time.”

That got him to smile at least. Wiping his mouth, he got up from the counter, blew a kiss at Cora, and left the kitchen. Sophie watched him go, fighting not to give into the temptation to sigh dramatically. “Is Parker still here?” she asked, turning back towards Cora.

Cora McRory, Nate’s cook and the nominal head of his household, shook her head. “She got a call first thing. Apparently there’ve been more threats, so she went into the office to oversee checking them out.” The red-head glanced after Nate. “She doesn’t want him to know yet. Says he needs to stay focused on the surgery.”

Sophie swore under her breath, digging in her briefcase for her phone. Modern medicine had been courting the animosity of religious extremists for years. If asked, she never would have guessed that the technology to save Nate Ford’s nephew would come around at exactly the wrong time for the strongest reactionary swing in public sentiment the country had seen in nearly a century.

 _Getting ready to come in,_ she texted to the head of IYS security. _Anything I need to know?_

 _Take him up the back way,_ came the response after a moment. _Pentagon’s already heard about the new threats – H & S are on their way._ Sophie waited for a moment, in case Parker felt the need to elaborate, but clearly the security chief expected her to be able to fill in the blanks.

She glanced up, realizing that Cora was watching her expectantly. “Department of Defense is getting involved,” she said by way of explanation. “They’re probably going to want to take up the rest of his day after he finishes with Maggie and Sam.”

“So, no need to worry about dinner?” the cook asked. Sophie pursed her lips thoughtfully, and then shook her head.

“We don’t want to have to deal with the aftermath of those three eating here,” she said, calling up Nate’s favorite restaurant and inputting her best guess for a reservation time into the app. “I hate inflicting them on the public without advanced warning, but things are going to be stressful enough around here for the next few weeks.”

It was only after she’d received her confirmation that Sophie realized an evening out might not mesh with any new security protocols Parker was dreaming up to deal with the latest round of threats. _Can’t be helped,_ she decided finally, putting her phone away. _Besides, if Iron Man, War Machine and Captain America can’t be safe at dinner for one night, there’s nothing the rest of us are going to be able to do to change things._  
****************  
Nate managed to make it all the way from his shower to putting on his tie before he realized that his hands were shaking. _Dammit._ Leaning on the dresser, he stared at his reflection in the mirror.

The closer he got to Sam’s surgery, the more he was beginning to doubt himself, his people, and the science that was supposed to save his nephew’s life. He pressed his hand over the arc reactor, its glow barely visible under layers of cloth. The device’s origins never bothered him when its existence only affected _his_ life. Most of the free world praised him to his face and damned him behind his back – Nate knew that very few tears would be shed if his life was cut short by something he created in a cave under conditions that couldn’t be laughably referred to as optimal or even sterile.

He’d made his peace with that a long time ago.

What he couldn’t stand, what was eating him up from the inside out, was the idea of someone he loved putting their life in the hands of something with such dubious origins. Okay, so every top mind in the field at IYS had been over the arc reactor, and in the end determined that for purposes of keeping Nathan Ford alive for the required number of years very few alterations would need to be made.

And the technology Sam would be receiving had been developed in a lab, under the most optimal conditions in the world. _Not to mention it’s technically only ‘inspired by’ the same technology as the arc reactor._

A small sound reached his ears – glancing up in the mirror Nate saw the reflection of Sophie standing at the door to his room. “Sorry,” he said, gathering himself long enough to finish tying his tie. “I was just…”

“Thinking,” Sophie finished for him. Her walk confident as ever, she crossed the floor of his bedroom and turned him towards her. “I’m giving the upstairs maid a raise,” she said, as she straightened his tie and checked the condition of his suit.

Nate didn’t have to look at the condition of his bedroom to know what she was referring to. “I thought Cora,” he began, but Sophie raised an incredulous eyebrow – effectively silencing what he’d been about to say. Blowing out a quiet breath, he forced himself to calm down and let her finish her inspection.

Finally she stepped back. “We’re going to be late.”  
***************  
If Jim Sterling had been anything less than IYS International’s Chief Operating Officer, Parker liked to think she would have thrown him out of her office without hesitating. “I’ve only got preliminary reports on the latest round of threats,” she reminded him, pitching her voice so that she had a prayer of being heard over his rants. “It was premature of you to call Washington.”

“Would you have preferred I wait until one of these crazies manages to figure a way past your security measures?” Sterling snapped. “73% of our operating capital is tied up in defense contracts these days, Parker. The Secretary of Defense himself has repeatedly called Nate a ‘valuable National Security asset’.”

Parker made a face. _If he’d wanted to he couldn’t have made Nate a bigger target._ “National security asset” played great on the evening news and the talk shows, but it made life miserable for the people charged with protecting those assets. “I’m not giving the feds control of Nate’s security,” she told Sterling. “I don’t care what you promised the Secretary or the Joint Chiefs.”

“Colonel Hardison and Captain Spencer will be here right after lunch,” Sterling said. “You’d better be prepared to give them a persuasive argument as to why not.”

Out loud she said, “No problem.” Internally Parker indulged in a fantasy of punching the two representatives in the face as the sum total of her argument. The fact that both of them were secretly superheroes just added another layer of silliness to the way her morning was unraveling.

She’d read the first two lines of the next email her team had red-flagged for her before she realized Sterling hadn’t budged. “Anything else Jim?”

He was silent for another moment before speaking. “I hope I don’t have to tell one of the top security experts in the world the best way to put an end to the majority of these threats.”

Her chest tightened painfully. “You don’t,” she admitted. “But that’s not a conversation I’m prepared to have with him yet.”  
*****************  
Maggie and Sam were already waiting by the time Sophie got Nate to his office. “I’m sorry,” was already on his lips as he came into the room, Sophie on his heels. “Slow start this morning.” Kissing his sister on the cheek, he went immediately to Sam and swung the boy up into his arms. “How are my two most favorite people in the world?” he asked, giving Sam his best smile and settling him into the crook of his elbow.

“Just fine,” Maggie said, nodding a greeting at Sophie. “How is Parker anyway?”

Sophie covered her mouth to hide a smile – the question had been timed perfectly in order to bring Nate up short. It was hard not to like Maggie – she had all the family charm and intelligence, without the recklessness that often pushed her brother over the socially acceptable line into being insufferable.

And her son was the sort of image to tug at anyone’s heart strings. Sam was open and friendly to everyone, despite his fragile condition and the raw deal life had handed him. This would be his third surgery in nearly seven years as doctors tried to determine the best way to deal with his condition. _Hopefully his last,_ Sophie thought as she flipped through the new sheets of paper that had landed in Nate’s inbox overnight. The majority of it was typical corporate white noise – she transferred it to an outer pocket of her briefcase. The rest she left to go over with Nate later. None of it was a higher priority than his family or the people on their way from Washington.

“You ready to go see Dr. Harrigan champ?” she heard Nate ask Sam. Sophie looked up in time to see the boy sigh dramatically. Nate laughed, hugging him.

 _How can people think it’s evil to save a child like that?_ she wondered, sliding tablet and stylus out of her briefcase. Innocence like Sam’s needed to be cherished and nurtured – saved by whatever means necessary. All Sophie had to do was look at the effect the boy had on a depraved, broken down, cynical bastard like Nathan Ford and she couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to move heaven and earth to keep him healthy and whole.  
*****************  
The medical wing of IYS was two elevator rides and a short walk from Nate’s office. He insisted on carrying Sam the whole way, claiming out loud that he needed the exercise, but privately fearing letting him get too worn out. He tried to convince himself he was overreacting, that it had only been a few days since Maggie and the boy had last visited, but Sam felt even smaller and more fragile in his arms than he had before.

Unbidden, thoughts of the groups picketing outside the complex rose in Nate’s mind. He wasn’t nearly as clueless or self-absorbed as people thought. He knew all about the protesters Sophie tried to hide from him and the threats Parker tried to pretend were no big deal. He’d read all their arguments and even understood where some of them were coming from philosophically.

He just didn’t care. His own misgivings about the technology aside, Nate knew he would do far worse than ride the dark side of a moral quandary if it meant saving the boy in his arms.

Peter Harrigan, Nate’s head of medical research, was waiting for them when they reached the heart of the medical wing. “How are you feeling today, Sam?” he asked, trying to look and sound as pleasant as possible.

Sam wasn’t buying it; he burrowed his face against Nate’s chest, whimpering softly. Nate shifted his hold on the boy, trying to soothe him. Harrigan wasn’t a bad sort, but in his attempts to find a cure for Sam’s condition, he’d inadvertently become the focus for a lot of the boy’s fears.

Dr. Harrigan waited for another second, then turned to Maggie – raising his eyebrows in silent query. “He’s had a good week, doctor,” she told him. “His appetite seems to be improving.” The two of them walked off, talking. Nate looked around the room, but Sophie was already bringing him a chair.

Murmuring his thanks, Nate sat down. “Just you and me now, champ,” he said softly. “Your Mom’s taking care of Dr. Evil.” He heard Sophie make a quiet, disapproving sound, but didn’t look up at her. “You all right? Hmm?”

After a long moment, Sam lifted his head. Nate felt his heart twist seeing tears on the boy’s face. “What’s up, Sam?” he asked. Sophie passed him a handkerchief, and Nate used it to wipe the boy’s cheeks.

“Uncle Nate, I don’t want to do anymore tests,” the boy said tremulously. “They all hurt and I don’t want it to hurt anymore.”

Overcome with emotion, Nate hugged his nephew again. “Oh Sam,” he said, fighting back tears of his own. “Champ, I know it hurts. Believe me. If I could take the pain away from you I’d do it faster than anything.”  
*******************  
“Don’t say it.”

Colonel Alec Hardison, USMC, sighed – tearing his gaze away from the protesters being held back by lines of police officers. “It’s getting worse.”

His traveling companion, Captain Eliot Spencer, glared at him. “I told you not to say it.”

“Oh good,” Hardison snarked. “We’ll just pretend things aren’t escalating out there at the front door of one of our most important defense contractors. Remind me again why you’re here?”

“I’m here to keep him from killing you when you tell him he can’t do what he wants to save his nephew’s life,” Spencer replied matter-of-factly. He turned to look out the window again. “What is Parker playing at letting things go on this long? Everybody knows there are other treatments available!”

Hardison never would have admitted it out loud, but he was privately relieved when the gate opened to admit them to the IYS International grounds. He was a decorated officer and liked to think that no one would have questioned his courage or determination to do what needed to be done in a fight. This was a mob situation though, with civilians – many of them here out of some divine belief that they were saving humanity’s collective soul. It was something no soldier enjoyed having to deal with or willingly sought out.

“She cares about him,” he said at last, finally answering Spencer’s question. “He’s going to see it as the worst sort of betrayal when she stands with us.” Hardison considered Nate Ford to be one of his closest friends, but he was honest enough about who the man was to know that he cared very little for his personal safety and very much for the loyalty of the people he surrounded himself with.

“We all care about him,” Spencer said, still watching the scenery stream by out the window.

 _Yeah,_ Hardison thought. _That’s the problem._  
*******************  
Parker finished reading her latest email from Sophie just in time for the limousine to pull up at the glass front doors of the main lobby. “Perfect timing boys,” she muttered, stowing her phone and bracing herself to meet their very important visitors from the government.

She was grateful Jim Sterling hadn’t insisted on shadowing her through her meeting with Hardison and Spencer. Neither of the men now walking through the door liked IYS’ Chief Operating Officer any more than he liked them. The fact that Hardison and Spencer would be as concerned with Nate’s feelings as the company’s bottom line made the whole situation a lot more volatile than she would have liked.

“He’s in Medical,” she told them by way of greeting as they all shook hands. “Today’s supposed to be Sam’s last round of tests before the surgery.”

The look on each man’s face told Parker instantly everything she needed to know. “Not here,” she said. “Let’s go to my office, and I’ll brief you on the most recent developments.”

When the three of them were in the elevator, Hardison cleared his throat. “You know the Secretary wants us to bring him back to Washington. At least put a detail of agents…”

“No.” Parker shook her head once, cutting Hardison off. “Nathan Ford’s security is _my_ responsibility.” She met the Marine’s eyes without flinching. “Whatever else happens today, that is not up for negotiation.”

“Parker,” Spencer interjected, “you don’t have the resources to deal with that groundswell out there. You need to stop thinking like his girlfriend before things spiral entirely out of control.”

She had turned – her hand coming up to slap the army officer before her brain caught up with the impulse. Not only was he an important person on levels she’d never be able to touch, slapping him was an embarrassingly unprofessional choice of responses. “You need to stop thinking you understand my motives,” she told him, keeping her voice low and controlled. She let him see the anger in her eyes. “There may come a day when my ‘feelings’ for Nate are a liability. That day is not today, Captain.”  
*****************  
Sophie had more than enough to keep her busy while Nate and Maggie supported Sam through each successive test. IYS continued to function whether its CEO was paying attention or not; it fell to Sophie to make sure that the board remembered that Nathan Ford was still very much involved in the day to day running of his company and that he had opinions on its operating philosophy that needed to be respected.

She finished an email to the human resources department and automatically glanced up – checking things through the over-sized window. Sam had been sedated for the final round of tests; Nate and Maggie were speaking with Dr. Harrigan.

 _Damn._ Sophie tensed, seeing the flash of anger from Nate. She got to her feet as he turned and stalked out of the examination room into where she’d been waiting. Their eyes met for a half-second before then he turned away from her and towards where Maggie and Harrigan were still talking.

“His condition is deteriorating faster than we thought.” With a jolt, Sophie realized that Nate was using the window’s slightly reflective surface to look at her. “Pete doesn’t want him to leave. He’s calling in the rest of the surgical team, and he’s told Maggie to go home and pack whatever Sam needs for an ‘indefinite stay’.”

Sophie nodded, pressing down her first instinct – which was to go to Nate and offer what little she could in the way of emotional comfort. Instead she looked down at her tablet. “I’ll have a driver ready to take her…”

“I’m going too.”

It was a simple statement, but startling enough that Sophie looked up to see Nate had turned around – looking at her more directly than he had in a long time. “My sister doesn’t need to be alone for this.” He was openly challenging her to defy his wishes.

Much as she wanted to let him slide, Sophie knew that this was one of the times Nate had to be reined in. And because he listened to her, for whatever reason, the job of forcing him to live up to his responsibilities fell to her. “I’ll go,” she said calmly, meeting his gaze without flinching. “Colonel Hardison and Captain Spencer are here – Parker needs you to join her in the main conference room as soon as you’re done here.”

“I’ll meet with them when we get back,” Nate said. There was a dangerously stubborn light in his blue eyes. “Sam comes first – you know that, Sophie.”

If she hadn’t been sure the statement was at least partially calculated, Sophie would have been hard-pressed to stand her ground. She knew Nathan Ford better than anyone living, however, and knew that grief and frustration only emphasized his baser instincts – it didn’t soften them. “You need to start dealing with what’s building outside and what it means,” she said. “I know you don’t give a damn about your personal safety, but you’re surrounded by a lot of people who do – and some of them have ideas where your cooperation in preserving that safety is entirely optional.”

He didn’t like hearing her state the truth so plainly, but Sophie was relieved to see that he wasn’t surprised either. She wondered if Parker knew how useless her attempts at shielding Nate from what was going on had been. “I will go with Maggie,” she repeated. “You need to be here for Sam when he wakes up, anyway.”

Some of the tension seemed to drain out of Nate then. “Harrigan says he won’t wake up for hours.”

Sophie moved into him then, laying a hand gently on his forearm. “Harrigan is not God.”

Nate chuckled bitterly. “Neither am I, unfortunately.”  
********************  
His feelings for Sophie Devereaux definitely ran to the complicated. Nate understood Parker – the two of them came at the world in very similar ways. She was smart, strong, and entirely open about her agenda. She wasn’t sharing his bed because she had designs on his fortune or being his one and only. He could respect that.

Sophie, on the other hand – even though he had trouble saying it sober, Nate knew that his world wouldn’t run nearly as smoothly as it did without the dark-haired young woman in front of him managing everything. _Managing me._

He hated that she was right about his priorities and how he needed to address what was going on, but his personal feelings on the matter didn’t change her being right.

Or that he desperately wanted to kiss her.

Luckily for both of them, Maggie came in at that moment. Nate immediately pulled his sister into an embrace, kissing the top of her head. “It’s going to be all right,” he whispered. “I promise. We’re going to get him through this no matter what it takes.”

Her arms tightened briefly around his waist, then she pulled away wiping at her eyes with a shaky laugh. “Sorry about that. I try not to let myself think about everything all at once.” Shaking her head, she looked up at him. “Are you coming with me?”

The answer stuck in his throat. Sophie stepped forward immediately. “Nate has some things he needs to take care of here.” Her smile was warm and reassuring. “Besides, it’s probably a good idea for one of you to stay here in case Sam wakes up early. I’ll go with you and make sure you get back as quickly as possible.”

Maggie looked doubtful for a moment, but Nate managed to gather himself and assure her, “I’ll leave word with Harrigan to interrupt me no matter what. I promise, Maggie – please don’t worry.”

She still looked uncertain, but she let Sophie usher her to the door. “Can I tell Parker you’re on your way?” Sophie asked, drawing his attention away from Maggie.

Nate was suddenly very tired of it all. He wanted to tell her no, wanted to tell them all what they could do with their big picture concerns. _Some of them have ideas where your cooperation in preserving that safety is entirely optional._

Nate sighed. He’d seen that coming too – possibly before even Sophie had, although he wouldn’t have staked his fortune on that. _All right._ He would meet with the three waiting for him in the main conference room. He would listen to their plans and their arguments and decide the best course of action going forward. And if Captain America and War Machine thought for one second Iron Man was going to meekly submit to letting them control his movements and his fate, they would quickly learn the error of their ways.  
********************  
“He’s coming,” Parker told the other two men. Spencer and Hardison paused in their discussion, then resumed arguing over the likelihood of the threats Parker had flagged for them being carried out.

 _Boys,_ she sighed mentally, leaning back slightly in her chair and trying to pick up the thread of the debate. Captain Spencer was approaching the situation with his usual black and white, us versus them mentality, and it was starting to give her a headache. The Colonel was at least keeping in mind who they were talking about, but even Hardison wasn’t entirely in Nate’s court on this. Nathan Ford was a “National Security Asset” after all, and Hardison was too high on the governmental food chain to ignore that.

It didn’t help that the specter of “alternative treatments” was hanging heavy over their discussion. Parker had tried to explain that none of the more conventionally accepted methods of dealing with Sam’s condition promised the success an implant did, but she didn’t have the medical knowledge needed to make a persuasive argument. _And if Nate won’t make his case to the board or the media,_ she thought, _he’s not going to bother making it here, to people he thinks should trust him without question._

Spencer jabbed an angry finger at one of the emails Parker had printed out. “This is the one, Hardison. These people have funding and focus. They could pull it off.” He paused, making sure he had both of their attention. “We have to remove Nate to the Pentagon. It’s the only way to keep him safe.”

Parker rocked forward in her seat, coming up far enough to be able to see who had the Captain so concerned. _Hmm…_ Her people had ranked this particular brand of religious extremists fairly high in their estimation as well, but Parker couldn’t shake the feeling that Spencer was running off a deeper knowledge base than she had access to.

 _That’s why they’re here though, isn’t it?_ She looked up at the Captain. “Unless you’re prepared to take him into federal custody _and_ hold him there until this blows over,” she told them, “you’d better forget about taking him to Washington. Not until the surgery’s over and Sam’s out of the woods.”

Spencer held her gaze. “The surgery’s not happening, Parker. Not here, not now, not as long as Nate insists on being present. We’ll transfer the boy to Washington if we have to, but we need to wait until this insanity quiets down.”

“We no longer have that option.”

Parker’s heart sank as she realized Nate had entered the conference room in time to hear Eliot’s last statement for himself. Her quietly increasing sense of dread grew as the three of them turned towards the new arrival, and she realized that whatever Dr. Harrigan had told Nate, it wasn’t good. His entire bearing was distracted, and his eyes were shadowed with pain and worry. “What happened?” she asked, fearing the worst.

Nate looked at her, and she could see him drawing strength from her presence. Parker wanted to go to him, wanted to comfort him, but she stood her ground. “Sam’s condition is deteriorating rapidly. Harrigan’s positive that if we don’t operate in the next forty-eight hours, we’re going to lose him.”

“I’m sorry,” Hardison said, at almost the time Spencer said, “Nate…”

Nate rounded on the Captain. “Don’t say it. You say it, and I can’t be responsible for what happens next between us, Eliot.” The two men stared each other down for a long, painful moment, but it was Spencer that looked away first.

As they stared at him, Nate slowly walked the length of the conference table, until he reached the first of the files they’d been going over. He picked it up, opened it, and made a show of flipping through a couple of pages before closing and dropping it again. The _slap_ as paper struck wood made them all wince.

“Before any of you say a word,” Nate said, continuing to his chair at the head of the table, “you need to understand that none of this means anything to me.” He pushed angrily at the papers nearest him, sending them flying. “None of it. Less now than it did two hours ago. _Sam is dying._ I am not opposed to taking all reasonable precautions to keep this building and the people in it safe, but everything is second to that.” He focused on Parker. “Everything.”

They looked at each other for a long moment, but Parker refused to break eye contact. Nate could come at this in whatever way he chose. He had the luxury of reducing the situation down to a simple yes or no, this or that choice.

She didn’t.

Realizing she wasn’t going to back down, Nate shifted his stance until he was looking at all three of them again. “IYS has the means and the technology to save Sam’s life and restore him to full health.” He sat down in his chair. “ _That_ is what we are going to do.”  
*******************  
If pressed, Eliot Spencer honestly couldn’t have explained to anyone’s satisfaction why he and Nathan Ford were friends. Nate was a stubborn, angry, reckless drunk. He made no secret of the fact that he would have preferred bedding as many beautiful women as would have him, instead of facing his responsibilities and his legacy, and running IYS the way it needed to be run.

In all the years they’d known each other, he’d rarely had a good word to say about anything Eliot thought was important in life. The only thing they agreed on was the loyalty expected of friends, and even then Eliot sometimes wondered how far beyond rational or sane Nate’s expectation of loyalty stopped.

Despite it all, however, they _were_ friends. Eliot had been raised with an extremely narrow view of the world. Nate challenged the way he saw things – the way he understood things – and he was smart enough and articulate enough that Eliot was motivated to listen and at least consider his side of the argument. And even though Eliot was ashamed to admit it, Nate knew how to have fun. Some of the best nights of his adult life had been spent in Nate’s and Hardison’s company.

“Nobody is saying Sam’s life isn’t important,” he said carefully, taking his seat as well in an attempt to diffuse some of the choking levels of tension in the room. “Nate, your desire to save your nephew is laudable, and I’m not saying that any of these people are right to threaten you for doing what you have to in order to keep him alive.”

“This isn’t a greater good argument, Eliot,” Nate said. Spencer was quietly relieved that his voice was calmer. His body language was less confrontational. It meant that the three of them had at least a chance of getting through.

“Forgive me Nate,” Hardison interjected, “but you’re wrong. As soon as crazies off the Federal Terrorist Watch List started talking about snipers and IEDs, this became nothing but a ‘greater good’ argument. I know you don’t want to hear it, but IYS handles a disturbingly large percentage of our defense contracts, including an even larger percentage of our weapons and armament production. That, plus…” Here he paused, but no one in the room had any doubts as to what he was referring to, “…other considerations means that you have to think in broader terms than Joe Q. Public.”

“So you’re saying I need to sacrifice a little boy for the public good Alec?” Nate asked, a nasty edge to his voice. “That’s not going to play well in the papers.”

“Christ Nate, you know that’s not what I’m saying!” Hardison and Parker finally settled into their seats. “I’m asking you to at least try and meet us halfway here.”

“What about relocating Sam and the team you have lined up to do the operation?” Eliot asked. “I know it’s not as ideal as if you did everything here, but the implant he’s getting isn’t that big is it?”

Nate pressed a hand over his arc reactor. The gesture was almost unconscious. After a moment, he looked across at Parker. “You’re being unusually quiet about this.”

The blond sighed. “Nate, I’m not exactly in the greatest position here. I could answer you as your Head of Security, but this is something where I can’t divorce my personal feelings from what should happen. I’m sleeping with you. I’ve played with Sam.”

“Just answer me Parker,” Nate snapped. Eliot was grateful he cut short the over-sharing – Parker’s lack of modesty had a tendency to make him extremely uncomfortable.

After a long moment Parker said, “I’m with them. I don’t know what it’s going to take, but we can’t do the operation here. Even if you’re not willing to rate your personal safety high enough to warrant the switch, think for a second how many civilian employees would be between the front gate and the operating theatre at any given moment.” Eliot had already considered the answer and didn’t like it a bit.

“Bomb at the front gate,” he said as gently as he could. “A handful of IEDs, an automatic weapon or two…it’s potentially a very high body count.”

Nate was quiet, his eyes on the mess of papers in front of him. Finally he looked up at the three of them. “I’m not going to Washington. Neither is Sam. If Harrigan’s worried enough to move up the surgery, he’s not going to authorize flying him all the way across the country.”

Eliot was willing to concede that point, and he was glad to see the others seemed to agree with him. Washington was an ideal for him, just like staying put and doing the surgery here was for Nate. The four of them continued to debate and discuss the situation for hours.

Right up until the alarm klaxons split the air, disrupting the noise of a normal business day and changing everything.  
*******************  
On the way back to IYS, Maggie lapsed into an uneasy silence. Nate’s sister had been extremely talkative for most of the journey, spilling most of her stress and fear into Sophie’s patient ears. Sophie listened and offered what comfort she could, until Maggie had talked herself quiet.

A stirring at the rear gate of the IYS complex drew Sophie’s attention. She leaned forward in her seat, resting a hand on the back in front of her as she tried to see more detail. “Raise the guards,” she told their driver. “Find out what’s going on.”

The young man’s side of the conversation wasn’t immediately helpful, consisting mostly of ‘really’, ‘wow’ and ‘uh huh’. After a few minutes, he slowed the car and looked at her. “Apparently some of the protestors made their way here about half an hour ago. The guard on duty doesn’t want us to try and approach right now.”

Maggie immediately came alive in the seat beside her. “No!” Scooting up until she was even with Sophie, Maggie gripped her shoulder. “I have to get back in there. My son needs me.”

Sophie sighed. “Maggie, I know you’re scared.” She gestured at the crowd. “But this isn’t safe. Parker’s been reviewing threats for weeks, and I promise you – some of these people are frighteningly serious.” She could see terror rising in the other woman’s eyes and cursed inwardly. “We’ll figure something else out.” _Helicopter,_ she thought, mind racing. Because of its size and its tendency to expand in unexpected ways, IYS was in the middle of over a thousand acres of undeveloped land. _If we pull back to the northern perimeter of the property, I can have the helicopter meet us._

She was opening her mouth to tell the driver to turn around, when the explosion split the air, shaking the car. Sophie’s eyes widened in horror as a fireball bloomed in front of them at the gate. “Call 911,” she said, her voice hoarse. “Call 911, tell them what’s happened, and get us out of here.”

Maggie started to argue, but Sophie rounded on her. “They’re going into lockdown,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically sharp. “I promise I will do everything in my power to get you back to your boy, but it’s not safe right now. Sam is in good hands. Nate is with him. I need you to be smart about this.”

She thought for a moment that Nate’s sister would refuse. Maggie was arguably the more sensible of the siblings, but they’d all been pushed well beyond reason. The moment mercifully passed – Maggie slumped back in the limo seat, arms crossed stubbornly over her chest. “I want to talk to him,” she said, her eyes over-bright with unshed tears.

“I’m calling him now,” Sophie said, pulling her phone out and trying not to show how relieved she was at Maggie’s decision.  
**********************  
It wasn’t until they received confirmation that a bomb had gone off at rear of the facility that Nate felt his first real stirrings of fear. It was one thing to sit around an expensive conference table and talk about the possibility of a bomb, mortar or gun attack – it was another to realize that people who worked for him, people whose well-being he was responsible for, had been hurt or killed.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Parker stepped in his path as he started for the door to the conference room. The two men had barely moved from their chairs.

Stunned into silence, Nate stared at his head of security. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ll make sure you’re kept in the loop, but these idiots are after _you._ I’ll be damned if I’m going to put you one step closer to them than I have to.”

Before he could recover enough to argue with her, Nate’s phone vibrated for his attention. Flinching, Nate pulled out the hand-set. _Sophie._ “Where are you?” he snapped as soon as he had the unit at his ear.

Relief that Maggie and Sophie were safe was tempered by worry about the distance and the violence that separated them. “Let me talk to her,” he said after Sophie had reported.

_”Nate?”_

Closing his eyes, Nate ran a shaking hand through his hair. “Thank God. Maggie, just stick with Sophie. She’ll get you back in here safe.”

_”Is Sam all right?”_

Nate felt a stab of guilt. “He’s not awake yet. I’m going back down to Medical now.” They talked for a few more minutes, Nate trying his best to soothe her fears, and then he hung up. “We need to get a helicopter out to the north perimeter of the property,” he said, focusing on Hardison. “Sophie and Maggie got caught on the other side of the bomb blast.”

“Matt’s not going to let any birds go up,” Parker said, glancing at her own smart phone. “Lock down procedures are already underway. Nothing in or out until the police and my people are finished cleaning everything up.”

“Alec’s military,” Nate countered smoothly. “Under official lock-out protocol, he and Eliot qualify same as law enforcement. They can move just as freely.” He met Hardison’s gaze and held it. “Take one of the choppers. Please Alec – bring them in.”

Hardison nodded, then slipped past them and left the conference room. Nate glanced at Eliot, who stepped closer to him. “Where are you going?” the captain asked.

“Back to Medical,” Nate said. “I wasn’t lying about that. I need to be with Sam.”

“I’m coming with you then,” Eliot said. “We’re not leaving you unguarded.”

Nate thought again about all the people who were hurt or dying – people he was responsible for. “Nobody’s going to find me in Medical,” he said. “I need you to do something else for me.”

He drew a deep, steadying breath. “I need Captain America to put in an appearance. See if you can diffuse things out there Eliot. Please.” The Captain looked as though he was going to argue, but two men appeared in the doorway at just that moment – distracting him.

Parker, on the other hand, had obviously been expecting them. “Plan G protocol,” she snapped, stepping forward. “He leaves your sight before you get the all-clear from me, your careers are over.”

Her expression was so fierce when she rounded on Nate that it was all he could do not to take a step back from her. “You want to play hero, I’m not going to take it out on you – I’m going to take it out on them. Are we clear?”

Nate scowled. It was almost as far below the belt as she would have struck playing the “girlfriend” card, but there was no denying it was going to be effective. “As long as they can keep up, fine.”

She studied him for a long moment, and then seemed to accept that he was telling the truth. “I’ll stay with Captain Spencer for now – see what we can do at the explosion site.” She glanced at her men again. “Channel Five – stay alert!”  
*******************  
Chaos was spreading like a shockwave through the facility as Parker’s forces began implementing lockdown procedures. Hardison skirted growing knots of IYS employees as they spread out into the corridors – looking for answers. He was grateful that as a whole they were too well trained to try and stop him to get the information they wanted.

 _It’s all coming apart._ It wasn’t until the possibility had been snatched away that Hardison realized how much he’d been relying on them being able to relocate Nate to Washington until the madness died down. He’d been prepared to pull every string he could get his hands on to have the boy’s surgery take place there. Like the others in Nate’s inner circle, he’d met Sam. It was impossible not to love the boy – it had hurt Hardison deep in his heart when Nate suggested he would be comfortable with sacrificing Sam for the greater good.

Hardison was running full out by the time he reached the roof, emboldened by a new sense of purpose. If he couldn’t guarantee Nate the operation necessary to restore his nephew to full health, at least Sam would have his mother at his side while the world burned down around them.

Matt, Nate’s aviation chief, met him half-way to the helicopter. “Chief already called,” he said. “Keys are in it – she’s gassed and ready to fly.” Hardison nodded his thanks on the run; a moment later he was in the pilot’s seat and running through a drastically abbreviated pre-flight check.

The blast zone was immediately visible from the air – Hardison shuddered to think what Eliot and Parker were getting ready to charge into on the ground. Black smoke billowed up from the ruined gate – the mob had grown to a frightening size, and they were trying to force their way past lines of police and Parker’s security forces. Emergency vehicles were visible on the approach to the facility, but the odds of them reaching the dead and dying in any kind of timely fashion weren’t good.

Turning his attention to the north, Hardison was able to see Ford’s limo on the northern perimeter of the property. Sophie – with her usual hyper-efficiency – had staked out an area of land with plenty of space for him to set the helicopter down and far enough away from the insanity behind them that they weren’t blocking the approach for emergency vehicles, or presenting a tempting target for the mob.

Sophie was talking to Nate’s driver as Hardison set the helicopter down in the grass. A moment later she stepped away from him, took Maggie by the arm, and led Nate’s sister towards Hardison. Both women were loaded down with suitcases – he pulled off his headset and slipped out the cockpit door.

Maggie immediately handed him the suitcase she’d been carrying; Hardison paused a moment to take the overnight bag off her shoulder before tossing both bags into the passenger seat next to him. Sophie helped get Maggie settled into one of the back seats, and was secured in her own place by the time Hardison was back in place.

The whole process took less than ten minutes, but by the time they were airborne again Hardison could swear things outside IYS were worse instead of better.  
***********************  
 _This is all because of Sam._ Maggie couldn’t take her eyes off the insanity playing out so far below them. They’d all told her to avoid the news. Nate had assured her repeatedly that his people had things under control, and she’d wrapped herself in his lies because they allowed her to stay focused on her son and doing whatever she had to in order to get him the help he so desperately needed.

 _Bombs…_ Maggie hugged her arms across her chest. People were dead. She didn’t have to be on top of the explosion to understand the truth of that. People were dead because of the stance Nate had taken in pursuing a cure for her son. She struggled to wrap her mind around the situation as Hardison brought them in for a landing on the roof – intellectually she knew she should at least feel some regret that things had turned out this way.

She couldn’t. Nate might be losing his grip on the situation, but Maggie couldn’t expand her awareness to anything beyond the little boy fighting his own battle deep in a still-untouched area of the complex.

Her phone was vibrating in her pocket as soon as they landed; Maggie wouldn’t have put it past her brother to have been monitoring their approach. _”I’m sorry I couldn’t come get you myself,”_ Nate said.

“Never mind that,” Maggie said as they headed into the relative quiet of the interior. “How is he?”

Her heart seemed to skip several beats when Nate didn’t immediately respond. _”Hurry,”_ he said finally. Maggie could feel the blood drain from her face.

Sophie stepped in close as soon as Maggie had hung up and slipped the phone back into her pocket. “Let’s go,” she said. “Somebody else will take care of the bags.”

 _Bags…no…_ Shaking her head, Maggie went straight for her overnight bag – pulling it out of Colonel Hardison’s grasp and throwing the strap over her shoulder. No matter how the next several hours played out, Sam would have Iron Man watching over him.

 _No matter what it takes._  
********************  
Eliot rarely felt self-conscious about his alter-ego. Captain America had been a symbol for justice and everything that was right and good and worth protecting about the country he’d sworn his life to defend for decades. There was something about donning his uniform in Parker’s presence, however, that made him feel just this side of ridiculous. “What?” he snapped, glaring at Parker as he pulled on his leather hood.

She was smiling slightly. “Nothing,” she said. “I know it plays well in front of audiences, but…”

“Nice,” Eliot said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t we have a riot to diffuse?”

Barely a half-dozen steps out of the office he’d grabbed to change in, they were confronted by two of Parker’s security people holding a familiar circle of red, white and blue. “Next time don’t make me guess where you’ve stashed it,” she said, as Eliot hefted his shield. He was almost embarrassed at how much better he felt with it in its usual place on his arm.

“They’re right,” he said, glancing at Parker. “Nate wouldn’t be able to dress himself in the morning, much less run this company without you and Sophie.”

“Why Captain, I’m shocked!” Parker said, putting a hand to her chest. “Seriously – I’m not going to forget you said that.”

“I don’t say anything I don’t mean,” Eliot countered. “Let’s go.”

They were almost to the blast site when the second bomb went off. Eliot reacted instinctively, grabbing Parker and pulling her down – shielding her with his body. _No…_ Eliot thought, horror washing over him as the screaming began ahead of them. One bomb was impulse – two was a plan. When the initial shockwave died away, Eliot pushed himself up slightly. “You hurt?”

Parker rolled out from under him, swearing a blue streak. “No. Thanks.” A moment later she was on her feet and running. Taking a moment to grab his shield again, Eliot followed easily in her wake.

A nightmare greeted them at the blast site. Smoke and debris clogged the space, and several small fires had broken out. There were more bodies too – dead and unconscious and horribly wounded everywhere he looked. Eliot was distracted by the carnage, trying to sort out the living from the dead, until he heard a familiar voice call his name.

War Machine stood twenty yards in front of them. “We have work to do.” The voice was impressive as always, magnified and refined through the technology in his helmet. “They’re coming in – the police can’t contain it.”

Eliot sought out Parker. Her gun was drawn, and she was already moving past Hardison. “Let’s go,” he said, locking eyes with his colleague and friend once more.  
******************  
For one heart-stopping moment as they raced into Medical, Sophie thought that the worst had happened – that Sam had died. Nate was in the waiting area, head buried in his hands. There was no sign of Sam, or any of his doctors.

“Nate?” Maggie asked, stepping forward. Ford looked up immediately – both women were stunned to see that he’d been crying.

“He’s alive,” he said first, hastening to reassure Maggie. Getting to his feet, he swept her into a bone-crushing hug. “They’re prepping him for surgery now.”

The news was staggering – Sophie mentally ran through what she knew of things, and couldn’t make the timeline work. “Were they able to get the team assembled?”

He didn’t answer her at first – the look in his eyes terrified Sophie. They’d been dealing with Sam’s illness for months, and even during the worst of it he’d managed to stay outwardly optimistic; for his sister’s sake if nothing else. Now he was scared – badly enough that he couldn’t hide it. “They’ll do everything in their power,” he said, breaking eye contact with Sophie in order to focus on his sister. “The critical team members are in place, and everyone else is en route.”

“We’re still in lockdown,” Sophie began, unable to keep quiet.

Nate glared at her. “Don’t. This is not up for debate.” It was one of the looks Sophie had learned over the years not to argue with. Giving him a mildly submissive response, she stepped back and turned around – pulling out her phone.

 _I’m on site,_ she typed into her phone. _Report?_

She waited for several moments, but no response came.  
***************  
“You should go sit with him,” Nate said, forcing himself to continue looking into Maggie’s stricken features. “I tried to stay, but…”

She didn’t make him explain his weakness. “How much did you tell him?”

Memory of Sam’s earlier expression and the understanding in his eyes when Nate had explained to him what was going on came back to him so strongly it nearly dropped him to his knees. “He knows,” he said quietly. Sam’s quiet acceptance of his situation had nearly been Nate’s undoing – he’d fled the boy’s bedside soon after, not wanting his nephew to see him break down completely.

Maggie reacted immediately. Swinging the bag on her shoulder into a nearby chair, she unzipped the side pocket and pulled out a stuffed doll dressed in a familiar uniform of red and gold. “Don’t be long,” she said, before disappearing into the operating prep area.

As soon as the door snicked closed behind her, Sophie turned to face him. “Parker’s not responding,” she said.

“Second bomb went off,” he said, bringing her up to speed. “Hardison messaged me. War Machine and Captain America are at the site – they’re doing what they can to contain things.”

Her terror at his news was plain. “Nate, can Harrigan even operate safely under these conditions?”

Nate inhaled deeply, trying to calm his own nerves. “We’ve started evacuating everyone we can – as soon as sectors are clear, security has been ordered to fall back here. Within the hour, this will be the safest place on the planet. We’ll be fine.”

Sophie shook her head. “You can’t stand there and be reasonable about this, Nate. We’re talking about fanatics – there’s nothing reasonable about this.” Before she could continue to argue with him, to give into her fears, Nate cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. She tensed for a split second, then relaxed into him with a quiet moan of relief. Encouraged at her reaction, Nate walked the two of them back the few steps that separated them from the wall.

“Sophie…” he murmured, when their lips parted. Tears were shining in her eyes when she looked up at him.

“Go,” she told him, favoring him with a hint of the steel he valued so much in her. “Sam and Maggie need you.”

“Well,” a familiar voice said behind them, “it’s too bad I didn’t need additional evidence for my presentation to the board. Showing them this would have clinched the deal.”

Nate spun, gaping at his Chief Operating Officer. “You went to the board?” Sterling was flanked by two dozen of Parker’s security people. His own shadows looked disturbingly uncertain. Nate didn’t need to be a genius to see he’d been outmaneuvered. Sterling had been the most outspoken of any of his people against Sam’s procedure.

“Two bombs, Nate,” Sterling said, stepping further into the room. “Two. An hour ago there were enough bodies on the ground to bury IYS in lawsuits for the next fifty years. Now – now we’ll be months just trying to recover from the hit to our reputation.”

“You really think I give a damn about the company’s reputation?” Nate growled.

“Lucky for everyone whose livelihood depends on this company,” Sterling said, “it no longer matters what you think.”

“What?” Sophie asked sharply, stepping up at Nate’s side. “James, what did you do?”

“He had them vote me out,” Nate said, locking eyes with Sterling. “Didn’t you?” He stepped forward, shrugging off Sophie’s grasping hand and raising his clenched fists. “Didn’t you, dammit?”

“I acted in the best interests of this company, its thousands of employees, and its hundreds of thousands of shareholders,” Sterling snapped. “All of whom you would have sacrificed for the life of that boy.”

“That boy has a right to the best medical care I can provide him! Nobody’s forcing anyone to have the same treatment; nobody is hurt by what I’m doing here!” But even as he said it, Nate knew how ridiculous he sounded.

“We’re not going to let Sam die,” Sterling said, his expression softening somewhat. “I am reliably informed that there are multiple alternative treatments available – treatments _you_ ignored in your single-minded determination to play God. Harrigan is being instructed to proceed with the best of those.”

Nate knew his jaw had dropped, but for several moments he literally didn’t know how to respond. He’d investigated every one of the options Sterling was referring to – did they really think he hadn’t? “None of them will fix the problem. Only the implant…”

He was cut off by the sound of another explosion in the distances, and more alarms starting to sound. _Oh God._ Thoughts of Parker and his friends flashed through his mind. Iron Man was needed out there – even now it was likely too late.

“The price is too high, Nate,” Sterling said. “You can stay with your sister and the boy if you want – as long as you behave yourself and don’t interfere with Harrigan’s orders.”

 _Sitting helpless, watching Harrigan’s team do things to Sam that they all knew wouldn’t work…_ It was his idea of hell, but how could he abandon Maggie now?

Sophie gripped his arm, drawing his attention towards her. “They need you at the front entrance,” she said – her expression clearly transmitting her worry. “That last explosion was there – whoever this group is, they’re well-funded and organized. We’re losing ground out there.”

 _Thousands of IYS employees…_ Nate couldn’t have cared less about the company’s shareholders or the defense contracts – any of the intangible practicalities people had been throwing at him for days. His employees though…these were people with families and responsibilities, people with vision who’d pledged to work for him because they believed at least in part in what his company stood for.

“Stay with Maggie,” he said, making his decision in a flash. Surging forward, he kissed Sophie again. “No matter what, don’t leave her alone.”  
*******************  
“He’s heading for the front entrance!”

Hardison raised his hands, using a low-level repulsor thrust to push the mob back again. Eliot had started off trying to pull his punches – preferring to use his shield to sweep people out of his path – but the mob had gradually increased in fury and determination until he was fighting just to stay on his feet.

“Sterling had the board vote him out!” Parker added. “He’s pulled the plug on the operation, and there’s going to be a press conference announcing the company’s capitulation.”

The news was so shocking, Hardison was almost fatally distracted looking back at Parker. “Go!” Eliot yelled, stepping back after knocking aside another group of protesters. “You’re the only one who can keep him from doing something stupid!”

Hardison grimaced. “You know it’s too late to stop him, right?” he yelled, once Parker had disappeared into the smoke.

“I’ll settle for keeping him from personally killing anyone at this point,” Eliot retorted. “Make that happen and we’ll call this a win."

IYS was burning down around their ears; Hardison wondered if Eliot felt the same way he did deep down– that their best hope was already a lost cause.  
****************  
Parker had known for days there was no way the operation was going to happen. _Our fault._ The accusation throbbed in her mind in time with her boots striking the floor as she ran. Nate had entertained his delusions about what they would be allowed to get away with far more than was rational or reasonable, but his inner circle was just as guilty for allowing the farce to continue.

 _How could we not?_ Nate’s love and concern for his family made him human. Even though her chest burned now with a combination of physical exhaustion and grief, Parker couldn’t regret allowing him the time and space to indulge that.

Evacuation protocols were underway – once she cleared the debris and smoke from the blast site, she was surrounded by floods of people heading to pre-determined evacuation points in the facility. _Sterling…_ she thought. Even though her authority had been entirely usurped by the move, she couldn’t find in it in her heart to care. _I wonder if I still have a job?_

Screaming erupted ahead of her as she approached the latest blast site, along with Nate’s voice riding above the crowd. “You won!” he was yelling. “Just stop – please!” The whine of an energy bolt split the air.

 _He’s in uniform._ Drawing on reserves of strength she didn’t even know she still had, Parker picked up speed – trying to get to Nate before the unthinkable happened. The back of the familiar red and gold suit was finally in view, when every monitor in sight around them into life.

 _”Ladies and gentlemen, my name is James Sterling. I am the Chief Operating Officer of IYS International.”_ Sterling paused – Parker looked up to see the man going through the motions of pulling himself together. _”This has been a stressful time for all concerned, as men and women of conscience seek to have their voices heard. The IYS Board of Directors met two hours ago, and came to several decisions that we believe are in the best interests of all involved parties.”_ The sounds of fighting waned around her – Parker couldn’t control a small sneer of disgust as Sterling glanced down for a second, trying to look as though he was fighting his emotions.

_”I am here to inform you all today, however, that further discussion and debate in this matter is moot. IYS had begun pursuing more conventional methods of treating Sam Ford’s condition, however the boy passed away twenty minutes ago as a result of his illness. His mother was at his side, and I am reliably informed he was in no pain.”_

_Sam…dead?_ Tears spilled down Parker’s cheeks as the news sank in. _It was all for nothing._ Death, destruction, his company and his future in ruins…Parker knew Nate could have survived it if he’d had something like Sam’s recovery to look forward to.

 _Now though…_ Shivering uncontrollably, Parker looked around for signs of red and gold armor.

Sterling was still speaking. The mob seemed to have lost their will to continue – police and IYS security were already moving into position to take people into custody. Parker leaped lightly on top of a pile of debris, scanning the area beyond the fires.

A lone figure was visible in the distance, light reflecting off his brightly polished armor.  
************************  
Nate felt strange as he stumbled away from the burning building; he’d been fighting so desperately to recapture some control over the situation that Sterling’s announcement had thrown him into shock. _Dead,_ he thought, trying to process the news. If Sam was dead, he needed to go back – needed to be with Maggie…

 _She’ll blame you._ She’d have every right to, but the thought of looking in his sister’s eyes and seeing her accuse him of failing her boy would finish him.

“Nate! Stop!”

He tried to turn, tried to acknowledge that Parker was following him, trying to save him as she’d saved him so many times before, but his legs gave out then – dropping him to his knees in the grass. _Dead._ Not just Sam – his people, his employees… _enough bodies on the ground to bury IYS in lawsuits for the next fifty years._

“Are you hurt?” Nate looked up into Parker’s terrified face as she stood over him. He managed to release his hood, taking away the metal and computers that separated them, but he couldn’t muster up the words to answer her.

Her fingers combed through his sweat-soaked curls – Nate closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. “I’m sorry, Nate. I’m so, so sorry.”

Her grief and sympathy seemed to touch something deep inside him, urging the first tears free from his closed eyelids. She was here. She had his back. Parker would keep him safe for as long as she could.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, Nate finally found the strength to let go his grief and his failure while his legacy burned in the distance.

  



End file.
